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In Part Two of this two-part series that looks at how electronic signatures work inside a transaction management solution, Tricia Stamper of Florida Realtors shows what the signature experience looks like from a home buyer or seller’s point-of-view.

One of the most powerful ways to quickly engage a new client is to show them something that will “wow” them. Digital signing can have that “wow” factor, particularly with home buyers and sellers who are used to signing paper real estate documents. The fact is, the more experienced your client is with a standard, paper-filled real estate transaction, the more they are going to appreciate – and be delighted with – the digital signing process.

And that’s a big misnomer in real estate: that somehow, your clients have to be tech-savvy to want to sign documents digitally. The only real impediment is not technology. The real barrier is the resistance we all have to doing something that we have never done before: the fear of the unknown. But if you show your clients what the digital signing process is like, and explain the incredible benefits it provides for them, you will find that every one of your customers, no matter what age or level of experience with new technology. In fact, digital signing is no longer considered a nice feature to offer. It has become so pervasive that buyers and sellers are expecting their agents to make it available to them, and not just Millennials.

Let’s look at how digital signing works for the consumer using Form Simplicity, a leading transaction management program that is Realtor-created and supported. The move towards a paperless transaction with Form Simplicity helps unlock the chains that keep agents tied to their desktop computers by giving agents access to all their documents from anywhere with Internet connection, anytime. With eSign built-in, Form Simplicity demonstrably improves the customer signing experience. Digital signing reduces both the time to sign and the number of errors. It eliminates the 11th hour scramble to get a missing signature, an unpleasant experience that can frustrate you, your customer and be incredibly stressful. Continue reading →

In Part One of this two-part series in looking at how electronic signatures work inside a transaction management solution, Tricia Stamper of Florida Realtors shows what the experience looks like from an agent’s point of view. In Part Two, Stamper will show what the signature experience looks like from a clients’ point-of-view.

Going paperless is the fastest way for agents and brokers to improve their businesses, increase their profitability and give clients a better experience. Real estate is a mobile industry and agents are always on the go: in their home office, in their car, or meeting with clients at their home.

Today, by using a transaction management program such as Realtor-created and supported Form Simplicity, agents and brokers have the mobile tools to put contracts together anywhere. Agents are no longer chained to their desk and with Form Simplicity’s integration with eSign, electronic signatures can save every agent literally hours per transaction. That translates into increased profitability and productivity for agents.

Let’s first take a look at how easy and fast it is for an agent to use eSign technology, as shown inside Form Simplicity:

First, an agent can create an eSign session and quickly auto-populate their client information from the transaction contacts already inside Form Simplicity: (If the contact is not already in Form Simplicity, the agent can manually add them later in the process.)

A little over 10 years ago, in January 2006, we were heading into a tumultuous housing market. But a few years before things got crazy, the Florida Realtors did something brilliant – it launched a new service for its members called Tech Helpline.

The concept for Tech Helpline was pretty straightforward. Technology tools for agents were coming to market at a rapid pace and many agents admitted to needing technology assistance. Just a year later, the first iPhone would be announced and that little computer-in-your-pocket ushered in a flurry of both opportunities and challenges for agents as it quickly became the smartphone of choice for most agents in our industry.

Florida Realtors saw the need to help provide a tech support service early on because it listened to its members. What was created with Tech Helpline was a kind of virtual “Genius Bar” for real estate agents, who could connect with a trained tech expert by dialing a toll-free number, opening up a chat window online, or simply shooting out an email if they had a less urgent question or need. The cost to the member: It was included as a member benefit, covered by their annual association dues. In other words, it didn’t cost them an extra dime. Continue reading →

In line with our mission to constantly improve the transaction workflow for real estate agents nationwide, Form Simplicity is delighted to announce a recent upgrade of the broker transaction management process within the Broker View settings. The layout has been revamped and updated to include a simple and easier-to-understand process for submitting files for review, a customizable checklist for brokers, and better tracking of agents’ and brokers’ communications throughout the transaction review to ensure compliance and legal procedures are followed.

Within the new upgrade, brokers have the ability to create a customizable checklist for their agents to follow when submitting transactions for review. The list features multiple components of a transaction, such as a residential lease or HOA agreement and does not allow the agent to submit the transaction for review until all required documents have been uploaded. As the agent uploads signed parts of the contract into Form Simplicity, the contract changes color depending on the status, such as red for required, yellow for added and purple for additional files. Once the contract has all necessary files uploaded, and the agent has completed all desired notes to their broker, the contract is submitted and under review once the broker opens the file. Continue reading →

Every great company has a unique story that outlines their beginnings, from a simple idea to a full-blown product serving people all over the world. Form Simplicity was developed and created by REALTORS®, with the intent to develop a software program that would eliminate paper transactions and be the optimal tool for specifically, real estate agents. Now, with the real estate transaction management market booming, and fiercely competitive, why should real estate agents continue to look to Form Simplicity? It’s simple, look at how our parent organization, Florida Realtors began.

Florida Relators is the largest trade association in the state of Florida, currently at more than 140,000 members. The association was created 100 years ago in 1915 and still remains one of the state’s strongest organizations today. The mission statement of Florida Realtors reads, “to advance Florida’s real estate industry by shaping public policy on real property issues; encouraging, promoting and teaching consistent standards for ethical practice and professionalism; and building on the efforts of local Boards/Associations to provide the information and tools members need to succeed.”

In 2010, Form Simplicity was in the process of being developed to give real estate agents a tool that not only catered to their business demands, but provided a user interface, and resources, to make the program easy to implement for members. Using the innovative ideas of Florida Realtors’ members that embrace change, the development staff began executing those ideas. The hard work of the development team produced a product that was able to capture the attention of other associations, MLSs, and multiple brokerages nationwide and aid in hundreds of thousands of paperless real estate transactions.

When Form Simplicity first launched in January 2011, it provided, many appealing features for real estate agents with ever-changing contracts and sales occurring. Online tools to storage, auto populate contact information and a library of digital, up-to-date forms, were included in the impressive tools utilized by Form Simplicity users. While other software programs include similar features, it is important to note that Form Simplicity includes product design and user configurations designed specifically in mind for REALTORS® executing real estate contracts/sales.

Form Simplicity offers affordable plans to both brokerages and associations alike and keeps up on the latest technologies to continually improve user’s experience. Since 2010, Form Simplicity has launched many upgrades and resources to further help real estate agents learn the software, and make the process of utilizing it that much easier. Some additions include: email to transaction, broker compliance tools, SMS and KBA verification for eSign, a help center for agents to reference, a blog featuring the latest news in the industry/software updates, and eSign markup.

Florida Realtors offers a personal troubleshooting team to all Form Simplicity users at no extra expense, the Tech Helpline staff. A seasoned team of IT specialists, based at the Florida Realtors offices, with over twenty years in the business are at your service when you call with questions. The Tech Helpline offers solutions to Form Simplicity, user interface issues and troubleshoots for general computer questions. The mission is to allow REALTORS® to focus more time during their day on building and growing their business, not battling their computer.

In short, Form Simplicity provides a transaction solution service that has its’ fair share of competitors and market demand. What makes us different is our mission to provide tools to help REALTORS® succeed, our Tech Helpline support staff and our audience. We are an organization made of REALTORS® developing products to better serve the real estate industry. Form Simplicity is a technology that strives to utilize technology to better assist agents and brokers. Just like REALTORS® nationwide, our door is always open, to both changes and feedback from our most vital customer, the REALTOR®.

It often feels like different brands are providing identical services while simply changing their names. However, as both marketing and advertisements find their way into multiple channels of our lives, we forget that many of those brands do in fact possess specialties that set them apart.

With Form Simplicity’s Ultimate Edition, REALTORS® have access to eSign, an electronic signature service that not only speeds up the process of writing contracts, but also executing deals and getting agents one step closer to receiving their commissions. But what is it REALLY that makes Form Simplicity’s Ultimate Edition a product different from the rest? It provides its users with Knowledge Based Authentication, Tamper Proof documents, Mark-Ups, SMS Authentication and In-Person Signing. Continue reading →

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